Warsame Digital Media (WDM) Editorial
A Protocol Written in Bias
Since 1991, Djibouti’s political theatre under successive rulers — from Hassan Gouled Abtidon to Ismail Omar Guelleh — has maintained a consistent “Djibouti Protocol” on Somali affairs. It is a doctrine not written on paper, but etched into every diplomatic gesture, every conference seating plan, and every whispered “brotherly” intervention in Somali politics.
When President Hassan Gouled hosted the first post–civil war Somali Reconciliation Conference, he revealed more than hospitality. He revealed bias. The sharp remark of the late Prime Minister Abdirizak Haji Hussein — “Djibouti has received some of us as brothers and the rest as friends” — was not simply a complaint about protocol. It was a diagnosis of Djibouti’s selective fraternity — a chronic political virus that continues to infect Somali diplomacy three decades later.
The Origins of the Bias
Three geopolitical currents shaped Djibouti’s enduring hostility toward a strong or united Somalia:
1. French Neo-Colonial Leash: Paris never truly released Djibouti; it merely outsourced control. The tiny port-nation remained a garrison for French interests, designed to counter both Somali nationalism and Eritrean independence ambitions. France viewed Somalia as the ghost of Greater Somalia, a dream that once nearly consumed the Horn.
2. Ethiopian Imperial Paranoia: Successive regimes in Addis Ababa, from Menelik II to Abyi Ahmed, maintained a standing doctrine: “Keep Somalia divided or risk Ethiopian fragmentation.” Djibouti became their perfect proxy, a miniature client state designed to suppress Somali nationalism under the banner of “regional stability.”
3. Abtidon’s Inferiority Complex: Siad Barre once treated Djibouti as a natural Somali province — an attitude that insulted Abtidon’s fragile sense of sovereignty. His answer was to exaggerate Djibouti’s independence by humiliating Somali delegates and aligning with forces that would keep Mogadishu weak and divided.
From Arta to Arrogance
The Arta Conference of 2000 was the apotheosis of the Djibouti Protocol — a spectacle disguised as peace. Under Guelleh, Djibouti transformed reconciliation into political theater. Delegates from Puntland and other federalist constituencies were deliberately sidelined, while Hawiye leaders were elevated as “national saviors.” The conference crowned Ali Mahdi Mohamed, the same man whose leadership ignited clan wars in Mogadishu, as the face of Somalia’s “new dawn.”
This was no accident. It was strategy. Arta institutionalized the marginalization of federalist and Darood-aligned regions, creating a political monopoly that Villa Somalia continues to exploit today under Damul Jadiid and its foreign backers.
The Five Pillars of the Djibouti Protocol
1. Political Marginalization of Darood Clans:
The so-called “Erir-Samaale” ethnographic myth is weaponized to delegitimize the Darood political base, painting it as “foreign” or “less Somali.” Djibouti’s propaganda machine sells this nonsense to Hawiye elites who happily buy it — because it keeps them in power.
2. Inheritance of Somali Arab League Seat:
When Somalia collapsed, Djibouti slid into its diplomatic vacuum, masquerading as the Arab world’s “gateway to the Horn.” It now markets Somali suffering as its own strategic capital.
3. Exploitation of Somali Collapse:
Djibouti’s economy thrives on Somali decay. Somali money transfer companies, import-export businesses, and traders keep Djibouti’s ports alive. Somalia’s misery is Djibouti’s GDP.
4. Control through Cultural Narratives:
The “Erir Samaale” myth is not anthropology — it is political anesthesia. It keeps Hawiye politicians loyal to Guelleh’s foreign policy while convincing the rest of Somalia that Djibouti is their benevolent “big brother.”
5. Economic Capture through Banking Dependency:
Djibouti’s banks are the offshore vaults of Somali capital. Every hawala, remittance firm, and logistics company operates through Djibouti’s financial arteries. It’s the perfect colonial model: Somalia’s money builds Djibouti’s skyscrapers.
The Hidden Empire of a Tiny State
Djibouti’s real power lies not in its size, but in its ability to weaponize Somalia’s weakness. With foreign military bases paying rent and Somali elites paying homage, Guelleh’s government has perfected the art of manipulation — dressing exploitation as “regional cooperation.”
From Arta to every subsequent “summit,” Djibouti has played the double game: peace-broker in public, political pickpocket in private. Its latest act — hosting recycled Somali politicians under the guise of “unity” — is nothing but déjà vu.
Conclusion: Djibouti’s Small State, Big Game
The Djibouti Protocol is not diplomacy; it is a doctrine of dependency. It thrives on Somali disunity and foreign indulgence. Every Somali leader who kneels in Arta or Djibouti City strengthens the very hand that profits from Somalia’s brokenness.
Until Somalia — particularly Puntland and the federalist north — confronts this parasitic arrangement, the “Djibouti Protocol” will remain the invisible constitution of Somali politics.
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